English dictionary, thesaurus, translations & etymology

Etymology — The Origins of English Words

Where do words come from? Trace the origin and history of any English word, from its Latin, Greek or Old English roots through to its modern meaning. Every etymology is sourced.

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From Italian monsignore, shaped by influence from the French monseigneur — a doublet of "monsieur" and "monseigneur."

A compound of "star" + "gate," popularized by the 1994 science fiction film Stargate and its spin-off television shows.

From massage plus the agent suffix -er.

A shortening of "Rastafari," the movement's name.

Likely a shortened form related to "moustache," though its modern sense of "foggy-headed" developed independently.

From Middle English gedde, borrowed from Old Norse gedda, meaning "pike."

From flirt + the adjective suffix -y.

Borrowed directly from French cabernet, the traditional name of the grape variety.

From candy + -man.

Probably a variant of "scouch," likely influenced by the similar word "scoot."

From unimaginable + -ly.

Borrowed from Swedish Hansson.

From North Germanic (Danish Johansen and Norwegian Johansen), patronymic from Johan + -sen.

Borrowed from Danish Jensen.

Borrowed from Spanish Beto.

A variant spelling of Bennett, tracing back to Benedict, "blessed."

Formed from "noir" plus the adjective suffix "-ish."

Believed to come from the old imperative "look ye!", with "ye" (an archaic form of "you") worn down into the -y ending.

Origin uncertain; despite its strong Hawaiian associations, "shaka" is not actually a native Hawaiian word.

From Italian "buffone" ("jester"), from "buffare," meaning "to puff out the cheeks" — an old gesture associated with clowning around.

From hypo- + -thermic, related to hypothermia.

From Hindi थर (thar), related to a word for "desert" or "wasteland."

A shortened, informal clipping of "pharmaceutical."

Mentioned in Ancient Greek sources as Τίγισις (Tígisis), possibly from Numidian, since it was a Numidian city. Compare Punic 𐤕𐤍𐤂 (tng).